Splitting-machine.



F. IVI. FURBER.

SPLITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. so. 1915.

1,224,91 Patented May 8, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l. y

.F- NI. FURBER.

SPLITTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED ocT. 30. 1915.

l ,224,91 Patented 8, 1917.

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FREDERICK M. FURBER, OF REVERE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY` COMPANY', OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATICIT 0F NEW JERSEY.

SPLITTING-IVIACHINE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 1917.

Application filed October 30, 1915. Serial No. 58,822.

To all -w/wm t mail concern.'

13e it known that FREDERICK M. FURBER, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Revere, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Splitting-Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specication, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the severa-lA figures.

This invention relates to machines for splitting stock and is herein illustrated in connection with a machine for forming upon the heel end of a sole a flap which may be bent down and attached to the-breast of Louis heel. In my Patent No. 1,111,255 and `my prior application Serial No. 822,105 filed March 2, 1914, I have shown machines for accomplishing this result, and the present machine is an improvement upon my prior machines.

In these prior machines a carrier in which are mounted a knife and a gage or presser is reciprocated over a bed upon which the sole is supported, the distance between the gage and the bed determining. the thickness of the fiap which is produced. In practice, it is desirable to produce a thin fla-p; and hitherto there has been a tendency to stretch such ap during the rearward movement of the carrier. In both the forward and rearward movement ofthe carrier, the gage presses the sole rmly down upon the bed and subjects the upper surface of the bed to a rubbing action. 0n the rearward movement, after the flap has been formed, the whole force of this rubbing action is taken by the flap with the result, mentioned above, that the flap is frequently stretched to such an extent that its length isl permanently increased. In accordance with the present invention this rubbing action is eliminated during the rearward movement of the carrier. I

One feature of the invention comprises in a machine of the class described a knife for slitting a piece of stock to form a fiap thereon, members for gripping the stock during the slitting operation, and means for releasing the grip of said members at the end of said operation to permit the stock to be vi-ithdrawn freely. And in this connection it should be noted that while, for convenicnce the invention has been described in connection with a machine in which a knife and gage moveoin unison over a bed, no such particular arrangement of parts is essential.

This and other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts will be described in connection with an illustrative machine and set forth in the appended claims. v Referring now to the accompanying drawings,-

a Figure 1 is an elevation 0f a machine in which the present invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a plan of a portion of the ma,- chine;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a sole which' has been operated upon by the machine;

Fig.l i is a vertical section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, and

trunnions at both ends which are mounted in suitable bearings inthe carriage 7 and has threaded into it a pin 13 'by which the angular position of the gage may be adj usted in a manner presently to be described, it being understood that the depth of cut of the knife depends upon the distance of the effective face of the gage above the plane of the bed.

The carriage 7 is reciprocated over the bed by means of a connecting rod 15 which is pivoted near its lower end at 17 to the carriage 7 and at its upper end upon a hollow stud 19 which may be clamped by means of a headed pin 21 and a nut 23 to arotatable segmental plate 25, the head of said pin being received in an undercut groove 27 in said plate. The groove 27 is struck about the axis of rotation of the plate 25 as a center, and consequently the carriage 7 is always moved in a path of fixed extent although the point at which movement begins and ends may be varied. rllhe plate is rotated from a power' shaft 29 through a one-revolution clutch mechanism which may be of any suitable type. The mechanism which has been described above is practically the same as that of the machines of my prior patent and application and will not be further described in detail. lt will be understood that when a sole is placed uponthe bed 1 and the eue-revolution clutch thrown in, the carriage '7" will traverse the bed, and that if the effective face of the gage 11 is located above the plane of the knife there will be produced upon said' sole a Hap the thickness of which will depend upon the distance of the gage above the knife.

It is the practice to adjust the parts of the machine in such a manner that a thin flap will be produced which will be adapted to be bent down and cemented to the breastof a Louis heel. Hitherto a disadvantageous result of the operation vof the machine has been that it has tended to stretch this iiap. ln both the forward and rearward movement of the carriage 7, the gage 11 has pressed the sole firmly down upon the bed 1 and has therefore subjected the upper surface of the sole to a severe rubbing action. During the forward movement of the carriage this is not objectionable; but during the rearward movement, after the thin flap has been formed, the force of this rubbing action is exerted almost entirely upon said flap with the result that said flap is frequently stretched. As has been explained one object of the present invention is to prevent such stretching by relieving the pressure of the gage upon the sole" during the rearward movement of the carriage; and in the illustrative machine this result is accomplished by movement of the bed away from the gage.

Resting upon springs 31 and held in adjusted vertical position in opposition to the forceof said springs by screw bolts 33 is a support 35 having projecting from 'its sides a series of rolls 37. rEhe bed 1 has two downwardly projecting` flanges provided with slots 39 to receive these rolls, the slots being inclined as shown so that when the bed is moved longitudinally it will be raised or lowered according to whether the movement is in one direction or the other'. The bed 1 is normally held,

when the machine is at rest, in the lowered bed l and has a stop nut 47 on its outer end. In order that the bed may be moved to the right and thereby raised at the proper time, said bed carries at its upper end a pin 419 having a roll 51 mounted thereon with which an actuating member 53 is adapted to contact when the segmental plate 25 is rotated. The forward end of this actuating member is beveled at 153, the outline of the remaining portion of its effective edge being a segment of a circle struck from the axis of rotation 55 of the plate 25 as a center. At its rear end the actuating memberl is slotted as indicated at 5'?, and is held in adjusted position by the pin 21 and nut 23 which hold the Lipper' end of the connecting rod 15. Vlhen, therefore, a sole is placed upon the bed 1 and the plate 25 caused to make a revolution, the actuating member by contacting with the roll 51 moves the bed to the right, thereby raising it and holding it in raised position until the knife has completed the formation of the flap. As soon as the fiap has been completely formed, and just as the knife begins its rearward movement, the roll 51 runs ofi1 the rear end of the actuating member, whereupon the spring Li1 moves the bed to the left thereby lowering it into the position shown in Fig. 1. As a result the gage 11 during its rearward movement does not rub heavily, if at all, upon the thin iiap, and no stretching of the flap takes place. I

The machine of my prior' application is designed to produce a flap like that shown in Fig. 3 in which the thickness of the flap is slightlyv increased at that end which is attached to the sole. The said machine is also provided witlrmeehanism by which the point or line at which the knife enters the sole may be varied so that, for example, instead of beginning to cut at the edge of the sole it may be cau-sed to begin at a point or on a line at some distance from the edge. The present machine is provided with improved mechanism for accomplishing beth of these results.

lt has been explained that the actuating member 53 may be adjusted by loosening the nut 23 and moving said member in a L circular path. The eect of this adjustment is to change` the time at which the forward beveled face 153 engages the roll 51 and consequently the time at which the bed 1 with the sole upon it is raised. To produce a flap like that shown in Fig. 3, the actuating member 53 is adjusted into a position in which it will raise the bed 1 in time to permit the knife to enter the edge of the sole. If it is desired to start the flap at a point or line inthe upper face of' the sole1 the actuating member is adjusted in a counter-clockwise direction viewed in Fig. 2 so as to delay the time of rising` of the bed until the knife has moved past the rear edge of the sole whereupon, when the bed is raised, the cut of tle knife will begin at a distance from said e ge.

In order to cause the flap to be formed with a thickened base the stem of the screw 13 projects through a slot in the carriage 7 and carries at its upper end a roll 59 which runs on a track 61 (see Fig. 5) fastened to the projectingend of the connecting rod 15.-

The ends of the operative face of this trac-k are segments of a circle struck from the aXis of the pivot 17 so that during the time the roll 59 is in contact with these ends the angular position of the screw 13` and consequently the gage 11 is maintained. At its middle portion, the face of the track is cut out; and when the roll encounters this portion the gage 11 swings slightly in a clocl wise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, thereby permitting the springs 31 to raise the bed and with it the sole whereupon the knife cuts a little deeper into said sole to form a thickened base on the flap as indicated at 100 in Fig. 3. In order to limit the counter clockwise rotation of the gage 11 a set screw 63 engages the stem of the screw 13; and in order normally to hold the screw 13 against the set screw 63 and consequently to hold the effective face of the gage slightly below the plane of the knife a light springt engages the roll 59. This spring, however, is

not stro-ng enough to prevent clockwise movement of the presser due to the drag of the presser on the stock, said clockwise movement being limited by the engagement of the roll 59 with the track 61. rThis spring is desirable in case the member 53 is so adjusted as to cause the cutting of the flap to be started at a distance from the edge of the sole since otherwise the knife might enter the edge of the sole or might enter the upper face of the sole prematurely. The track 61 is held in a bracket having arms which enter guideways formed on the opposite sides of the projecting end of the connecting rod 15. An adjusting screw 65 and a locking screw 67 furnish means for adjusting the track 61 and for locking it in adjusted position.` lt will be observed that the position of the track determines the extent to which the gage 11 may swing in a clockwise direction when the bed with the sole upon it is forced upwardly and consequently the thickness of the flap which is produced.

In the operation of the machine the actuating member 58 and the track 61 are adjusted to the desired positions, a sole is placed upon the bed in the desired position and a treadle (not shown) is depressed to cause the plate 25 with the attached actuating member 53 to make one revolution.,

l/Vhile the knife and gage are moving forward the bed is raised and held raised until said forward movement is completed after which the spring' 41 lowers the bed and holds it lowered while the knife and gage move back to the position shown. Thus the grip of the gage and the bed upon the sole is released during the rearward or return movement of the carriage and no rubbing action is exerted upon the flap.

Although the invention has been set forth lin connection with a particular machine it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular machine shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States:

1. A machine for forming a thin 'flap on a piece of stock having, in combination, a support for the stock, a carrier located above the support, a knife and a presser mounted in said carrier, means for causing relative reciprocation between said support and said carrier, said presser being constructed and arranged to bear upon the stock in advance of the knife and to move over the surface of an uncut portion of the stock during the first half of the reciprocation and to bear upon the surface of the flap during the last half of the recprocation, and means for relieving the pressure of the presser on thc surface of the flap.

2. A machine for forming a thin flap on a piece of stock having, in combination, a support for the stock, a carrier, a knife and a presser mounted in said carrier, said presser being constructed and arranged to engage the stock at a point in advance of the knife and to determine by its pressure .the thickness of the flap, means for causing relative movement between said carrier and support first in one direction to form said iiap and then in the opposite direction-to cause the knife and presser to be withdrawn, and means for relieving the pressure of the presser on the flap during the withdrawing movement.

3. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a bed for supporting a piece of stock, a carrier, a knife mounted in said carrier, a gage also mounted in said carrier and arranged at all times to bear upon the stock in advance of the knife, means for producing relative movement be.- tween said bed and carrier rst to cause the knife to produce a flap on the stock and then to cause the knife to be withdrawn from beneath the flap, and means for separating the gage and bed during said last-named movement to relieve the pressure of the gage upon the flap.

el. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a bed for supporting a piece of stock, a carrier, a knife mounted in said carrier, a gage also mounted in said carrier, means for producing relative movement between said bed and carrier first to cause the knife to produce a flap on the stock and then to cause the knife to `be withdrawn from beneath the flap, and means for rendering said gage inoperative during said lastnamed movement.

5. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a bed for supporting a i piece of stock, a carrier, a knife and agage mounted insaid carrier, means for imparting to said carrier one reciprocationlin a path substantially parallel to theplane of said bed, and means becoming operative at the end of the first half ofsaid i'eciprocation to increase the space between the gage and the bed and to maintain said increased space during the latter half of said recipiocation.

6. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a bed for supporting a piece of stock, a carrier, a knife anda gage mounted in said carrier, means for producing relative reciprocation of said bed and carrier in a path substantially parallel to the plane of said bed, and means `for causing said gage and bed to approach eachother during the relative forward movement of the carriage and for causing said gage and bed to recede from each other at the endof said forward movement.

' 7. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a bed for supporting a piece of stock, a carrier, a knife and a gage mounted in said carrier, said gage being constructed and arranged to bear upon the stock in advance of the knife, means foi" reciprocating said carrier over said bed iirst to cause the knife to form a flap on the stock and then to cause the knife to be withdrawn, and means for separating the gage and bed dun ing said last-nained movement to relieve the pressure of the gage upon the iiap.

8. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a bed for supporting a piece of stock, a carrier, a knife and a gage mounted in said carrier, means for reciprocating said carrier over said bed in a path substantially parallel to the plane of said bed first to cause the knife to slit the stock and then to cause the knife to be withdrawn from the slit, and means for rendering said gage inoperative during said last-named movement to prevent stretching 0f the flap produced by the slitting operation.

9. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife for operating upon a piece of stock, a supporting member upon which the stock rests, means for causing the knife to enter the stock to form a slit therein and then to be withdrawn from said slit, and means for exerting a given pressure upon the st-ock in advance of the knife during the slitting operation and for relieving said pressure during the withdrawal of the knife to prevent stretching of the flap produced by said slitting operation.

10. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife for slitting a piece ofstock, a supporting member upon which the stock rests, a pressing member,

4means for producing relative movement beand means for causing said members to grip the stock progressively in advance of the knife with a greater pressure during the entire first named movement and with a lesser pressure during the entire last named movement.

11. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a bed for supporting a piece of stock, a knife for slitting said stock, a presser for engaging and moving along the surface of said stock during the slitting operation in advance of said knife, means for producing relative reciprocation between said bed and said knife and presser', and means permitting increase ofthe distance between said presser and said bed at a selected point in said reciprocatory movement.

12. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, a bed for supporting a piece of stock, a carrier slidable over said bed, a knife and a gage mounted in said carrier, a connecting rod pivoted to said carrier, an extension on said rod, a curved track having adepression in its middle portion mounted on said exten-sion, and ay member connected to said gage and arranged to run on said track, whereby the limit of movement of said gage away fromsaidbed is determined.`

13. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a bed for supporting a piece of stock, a carrier slidable over said bed, a knife and a gage mounted in said carrier, a connecting rod pivoted to said carrier, an extension on'said rod beyond the pivot, a track carried thereby, the ends of said track boing segments of a circle struck Vfrom the axis of the `pivot as a center, there being a depression in the middle portion of said track, and a roll connected to said gage and arranged to run on said track, whereby the limit of movement of said gage away from said bed is determined.

14:. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a piece of stock, a carrier located above said support, a knife and a presser mounted in said carrier, said presser being constructed and arranged to engage the stock in advance of the knife during the cutting operation, means for producing relative reciprocation between said carrier and bed, means normally holding said bed in lowered position, and means for raising and lowering said bed at predetermined points in the cycle of reciprocation.

15. A machine of the class described, having, in combination, a support for a piece of stock, a carrier located above said support, a

knife and a presser mounted in said carrier, ing and lowering said bed at predetermined said presser being constructed and arranged points in the cycle of reciprocation, and

to engage the stock in advance of the knife means for varying said predetermined 10 during the cutting operation, means for pr0- points.

ducing relative reciprocaton between said In testimony whereof I have carrier and bed, means normally holding name to this specification.

said bed in lowered position, means for raisi FREDERICK M. FURBER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, ID. C.

signed my 

